The ingenuity of indigenous peoples is too often overlooked by
policymakers making decisions related to climate change — even though
they are among the most vulnerable to its impacts, according to a new
report.

The report from the International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN), released last month (March), points out that indigenous
people usually occupy marginal and remote areas, such as small islands,
coastal plains, mountain areas and drylands, where they are exposed to
adverse environmental effects.

Although these populations develop coping strategies, the
severity of future climate change may exceed this adaptive capacity,
say the report's authors.

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Furthermore, they are often socially vulnerable —— lacking
rights, infrastructure and support, and with fragile livelihoods based
only on natural resources.

The areas liable to the greatest changes in climate, and
indeed already affected, include the Amazon region, the Caribbean,
southern Africa and southern Latin America — all containing large
numbers of indigenous people.

Gonzalo Oviedo, co-author of the report and IUCN senior advisor on social policy, told SciDev.Net, "Indigenous peoples'
vast experience in adapting to climate variability will not be
sufficient — they also need better access to other information and
tools."

The report emphasises the need to involve indigenous communities more in research and debate on climate change. "In
the Arctic, scientists and indigenous people work together. It opens
doors to knowledge not accessible through Western scientific methods," says co-author Sarah Gotheil, programme officer of IUCN's Global Marine Programme.

Indigenous peoples' perspective and knowledge should be considered when making policies on adapting to climate change, the report recommends.

Their adaptation practices include rainwater harvesting, crop
and livelihood diversification, and hunting and gathering timed with
variations in animal migration and fruiting periods.

The challenge, says the report, is to find how best to combine
traditional and scientific knowledge for incorporation into decision
making.

The report advises that supporting indigenous peoples in their adaptation methods will help preserve the world's culturally and biologically most diverse areas.

"Their wise practices are also important for the younger generations," adds co-author Agni Boedhihartono, a landscape and community engagement officer for IUCN.